England has a very strong sporting heritage and codified many sports in the 19th century which are now played around the world. Sports originating in England include association football, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, tennis, badminton, squash,[191] rounders,[192] hockey, boxing, snooker, billiards, curling, darts, table tennis, bowls, netball, thoroughbred horseracing and fox hunting. It has helped the development of sailing and Formula One. Football is the most popular of these sports. The England national football team, who play at Wembley Stadium, won the FIFA World Cup in 1966, the year the country hosted the competition. At club level England is recognised by FIFA as the birth-place of club football, due to Sheffield FC founded in 1857 being the oldest club.[190] The Football Association is the oldest of its kind, FA Cup and The Football League were the first cup and league competitions respectively. In the modern day the Premier League is the world's most lucrative football league and amongst the elite. The European Cup has been won by Liverpool, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, while Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds United have reached the final.
The England national rugby union team won the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the country was one of the host nations of the competition in the 1991 Rugby World Cup and is set to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[196] The top level of club participation is the English Premiership. Leicester Tigers, London Wasps, Bath Rugby and Northampton Saints have had success in the Europe-wide Heineken Cup. In another form of the sport—rugby league which was born in Huddersfield in 1898, the England national rugby league team are ranked third in the world and first in Europe. Since 2008 England has become a full test nation in lieu of the Great Britain national rugby league team, which won three World Cups but is now retired. At a domestic level, clubs previously played in the Rugby League Championship, now known as the Super League. Some of the most successful clubs include Wigan Warriors, St Helens, Leeds Rhinos and Huddersfield Giants; the former three have all won the World Club Challenge previously. In tennis the Wimbledon Championships are the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely considered the most prestigious.
The England cricket team is a composite England and Wales team—cricket is regarded as England's national sport. One of the game's top rivalries is The Ashes test games between England and Australia, competed since 1882, England has won it 92 times. England has hosted four Cricket World Cups and hosted the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009. At domestic level the County Championship is played where Yorkshire are by far the most successful club, ahead of Sussex and Middlesex. William Penny Brookes was prominent in organising the format for the modern Olympic Games—London has hosted the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1948, as well as being set to host in 2012. The Commonwealth Games held every four years is competed in by England. Sport England is the governing body responsible for distributing funds and providing strategic guidance for sporting activity in England. A Grand Prix is usually held at Silverstone but will be moved to Donington.
